Chapter Twenty-Eight - IVAN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
IVAN
AFTER HAVING brEAKFAST with Emma, Alexei Rostov calls me with an update. I tell him to meet in my office, which gives me time to gather my brothers and Mikhail.
“What do you know?” I ask Alexei when he shows up.
“One of my soldiers just shared intel from Popov’s camp,” Alexei begins. “Popov and his men are planning an ambush on this estate tomorrow night.”
“How reliable is this intel?” Maksim asks. He’s already on the phone with Kolya, relaying what Alexei is reporting.
“Very reliable,” Alexei answers.
I let out a long breath at the impact this intel could have on us all. A lot of different scenarios start running through my head.
“Well fuck,” Maksim says out loud. His sentiment is echoed by Dmitri and Grigory.
“I don’t have to tell you what this means for security,” I say, directing my attention towards Dmitri. “Start by pulling most of our men back and positioning them around the estate. I want them rotating in shifts every four hours,” I tell him.
“On it,” Dmitri says.
“Alexei, I want your men patrolling our territory with the men we leave out there. Now that Popov is working with Callaghan, they may use the ambush as an opportunity to steal territory, especially in the Seaport District,” I instruct.
“Yes, pakhan,” Alexei replies.
“Dmitri, get Denis Beridze on the phone and tell him to get here now. He’ll be sharing security shifts at the estate with our men until I say otherwise,” I tell my brother.
“You got it,” he responds.
“Maksim, see if we can send a little message to Callaghan and get him to show his face tomorrow night. I want this mudak dealt with once and for all,” I say.
“Oh this is going to be fun,” Grigory chimes in. For a lawyer, he has a twisted sense of dark humor.
“Grigory, Mikhail, I want you two to stick with me for now. When shit goes down, I need the two of you to take care of Emma and Lidiya,” I say to them. As far as I’m concerned, taking care of my wife and my sister is the most important task in this plan. They both nod in agreement.
I send a quick message to Emma and Lidiya, asking them to come to the office. They arrive a couple of minutes later and take a seat on the couch.
“What’s going on?” Lidiya asks. She’s more used to these kinds of situations than Emma is.
“The two of you are both confined to the living room or your bedrooms until further notice,” I tell them. I give Emma a look that hopefully conveys my concern and love at the same time.
“Why?” Emma asks softly.
“Because this situation isn’t over yet, and I need to know you’re safe and secure,” I tell Emma, kneeling beside the couch and taking her hands in mine. “My wife and my sister will be protected at all costs.”
“Your wife?” Emma looks at me as confusion crosses her face. “Ivan, I’m not your wife.”
“We’ll fix that when this is over, lyubimaya,” I tell her, taking her face in my hands and kissing her. “My brothers and sister already consider you family.”
“It’s about fucking time,” Lidiya says loudly. She starts clapping, and my brothers and Mikhail soon join her.
“Before we do that, we need to eliminate Callaghan and his organization,” I say, standing up and moving back to my desk. Everyone else nods in agreement.
“Emma, let’s leave the boys to play their war games,” Lidiya says, taking Emma by the hand. “We’ll get some snacks and watch some trashy TV in the living room.”
“Sounds good,” Emma replies as she follows Lydia out of the office.
Emma seems overwhelmed, and I wonder how much of my life she’s already accepted and how much of it is the effect of the shock she’s been through the last few days.
For the rest of the day, I don’t get to spend more than twenty minutes together at a time with Emma.
Between reports of Callaghan’s, Popov’s movements, and making sure security is air-tight around the estate, I’m a busy man.
There were several times when I had a moment to spare and walked into the living room to see Emma asleep on the couch, so I just went back to work.
When it was time for Emma to get to bed, I carried her up the stairs to our room. We settled under the covers together and watched a show on TV. I think we were both too tired for any other kind of activity that didn’t involve snuggling or sleep.
Just a little after midnight, I’m awakened by a popping sound.
Emma is sound asleep beside me, so I quietly slip from the bed and cautiously approach the window.
I hear more popping sounds, but I look out the window, I don’t see any movement.
Then I notice lights flashing near the tree line on the far side of the lawn. Our expected guests are early.
“Shit,” I say before rushing to the dresser to find my pistol and grabbing my phone. I furiously dial Dmitri’s number.
“What’s wrong, Ivan?” Dmitri asks. He’s still awake and talking to Lidiya downstairs in the living room.
“They’re here. Make sure everyone is in place,” I tell him before hanging up the phone.
I need to get Emma to safety inside the house so I can take care of the approaching threat.
“Emma, I need you to wake up,” I tell her. I’m not gentle about shaking her shoulder this time.
“It’s too early,” she complains without opening her eyes.
“Lyubimaya, wake up now!” I raise my voice to get my point across. Emma opens her eyes and looks fearful. I grab her robe so she is covered because I’m going to have to take her downstairs with me where others can see her.
“What’s happening, Ivan?” Emma asks nervously.
“Men are approaching the house. They weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow. I need to get you and Lidiya to safety,” I say, trying to give her as much information as I can without saying everything I’m thinking.
I grab Emma’s arm to guide her downstairs. Lidiya joins us in the hallway along with my brothers and Mikhail. Gunshots are growing closer and louder outside.
“How the fuck are those mudaks so close to the house? Where the fuck is all the security?” I yell.
Grigory steals a discreet peek out the front window to check what’s happening.
“Oh fuck! We’re about to be screwed,” he says, turning back to our little family group.
“Emma, look at me,” I say, turning her towards me and grabbing her by her upper arms. “Go with Lidiya and hide in the safe room. Don’t argue, just go. I will find you when this is over.”
“Where will you be?” Emma asks as tears start to fall.
“Keeping you safe and saving our family,” I tell her. “Lidiya knows what to do. Stick with her and listen to whatever she says.” I pull Emma close for what I hope will not be our last hug.
“Please be safe, Ivan. I love you,” Emma tells me.
“I love you, too, lyubimaya,” I reply, pressing my lips to hers for a last kiss before she goes off with my sister.
When the girls have disappeared, I turn my focus back to my men. We’ve been joined by Alexei and Denis, and quickly decide where everyone will be positioned. Grigory does another quick check out the front while Alexei checks the back.
“So much for tomorrow night,” I say to Alexei with a chuckle.
“Da.” He laughs back.
We all hit the floor the second the first bullet penetrates a window. Men stationed around the house return fire, dropping a few of the enemy. I really hope one of those approaching assholes is Callaghan.
The front door of the house is kicked in, and men dressed in black and wearing tactical gear pour into the entryway.
Then all hell breaks loose. More men break in through the back door, and shots are ricocheting off the walls.
I take cover behind a pillar and manage to get a few well-placed shots off into these idiots, dropping them like flies.
Someone throws a smoke grenade into the entryway, making it more difficult to see.
That doesn’t prevent me from dropping a few more assholes as they pour through the front door.
My brothers are drawing several men away from the foyer, Alexei is firing up the stairs, while Denis is taking care of those coming through the back.
“Kiselyov!” someone says at the front door. I know that voice. It belongs to the man who doesn’t know he’s about to die. “Show yourself!”
“You think coming to my home uninvited and bringing a party I didn’t ask for is the best way to resolve our conflict?” I ask him. I shield myself behind a wall in the living room. Smoke from the grenade is dissipating through the open doors and broken windows.
“Come now, Kiselyov. What good is it to have a conversation over the phone when we can have it in person?” Callaghan walks further into my home, a gun drawn as he scans the room, looking for me.
I can still hear the gunshots and shouts of men on both sides on the lawn outside.
“Come out and face me so we can settle this like men.”
“You’re not a man, Callaghan,” I growl. “Men don’t use women the way you do, and they certainly know better than to come after my woman.” I step out from my hiding place, gun drawn and pointed straight at his chest.
“Let’s agree to disagree,” he replies. “I’ve come to make a deal.”
“What the fuck kind of deal do you think you could make that I would accept?” I ask him, gun still pointed in his direction.
“The kind of deal that allows you to keep your territory and business interests,” Callaghan says. I don’t believe this asshole for a second.
“I’ll keep what’s mine. You’ll be leaving this estate in a body bag,” I tell him.
“Now that’s not very nice,” Callaghan says, his gun still pointed at me.
“I’m not a nice man, and I’m not negotiating with you,” I tell him.
“Then we’re at a stalemate,” he says. “What ever shall we do?”
“That’s easy—I kill you. I kill your men that came here tonight. I dismantle your organization,” I say as I share my new to-do list. I’m trying to keep him busy because I see Dmitri and Maksim coming down the hallway behind him with their guns drawn.
“You always did have a sense of humor, Kiselyov.” Callaghan chuckles. “I’ll miss that when you’re dead.”
Three of Callaghan’s men come barreling through the front door, guns drawn and shouting.
I’m distracted long enough by the sudden noise that I turn my head to look at them, briefly taking my eyes off Callaghan.
I hear shots coming from my left when I turn my head and hear a scream.
Somebody is pushing me to the ground and out of the line of fire.
When my body hits the floor, I look up to see Callaghan’s body shaking as bullets sink into his chest. The three men who came through the door are already dead on the floor. That’s when I look down to see Emma on the floor beside me.
“EMMA!” I shout, realizing that she was the one that pushed me down. “Emma, are you okay?” I look down at her, but she’s not moving. In fact, her eyes are closed and I can barely feel her breathing. I check for a pulse, and it’s slow, but she’s still got one.
“Ivan!” my brothers call out, holstering their weapons and dropping down to the floor next to Emma.
I run my hands over her to check for wounds, and see a bullet hole. Checking her back, I don’t find an exit wound. I curse to myself. The shot Callaghan meant for me ended up in Emma because she pushed me out of the way.
“Emma, wake up,” I tell her, shaking her gently while trying not to shake her too much. I’m pretty sure she hit her head on the floor when she landed. She doesn’t stir.
“Ivan, we need to get her to a hospital,” Dmitri says, using a blanket from the couch to cover and put pressure on her wound.
“I’ve got our friend at Mass Gen on the phone. He’s going to meet us at the emergency room,” Maksim tells me.
“Oh God, what happened?” I hear Lidiya ask behind me.
“Callaghan tried to shoot Ivan, and Emma took the bullet instead,” Dmitri tells her.
I never thought I’d have to use my Special Forces training to defend my family in my own home. Now I’m using those skills to try and save Emma’s life.
“Get the fucking doctor here now!” I yell. “Dmitri, keep pressure on that wound and somebody get me something to keep her neck still.”
Maksim leaves and returns with a medical bag I keep in my office for emergencies. This is one emergency I never thought I’d be in, and I’m terrified of losing Emma.
“Emma, I need you to wake up and talk to me,” I tell her as I move quickly. She stirs and her eyes flutter for a brief moment.
“What happened?” she asks weakly.
“You were shot, and I think you hit your head. I need you to stay awake and talk to me,” I try to explain.
“I can’t feel my legs,” she says.
“What about your hands?” I ask her. I look down and she wiggles her fingers. Good. She has movement in them.
“I’m tired, Ivan,” she says as her eyes start closing.
“Emma, don’t go to sleep. I need you to stay awake,” I tell her. The doctor finally shows up and is helping us get Emma somewhat stabilized.
“I’ll call our friend in the department. Tell him we have an emergency and need an escort to Mass Gen,” I hear Grigory on the phone. “Ivan, I’m going to get the SUV so we can take her.”
“Good call, Grigory,” the doctor replies. “We can lay her down across the backseat, and I’ll need Ivan to keep her head stable on the drive.”
When Grigory pulls up to the front door, I tell Emma that we’re going to take her to the hospital and get her some help.
I pick her up gently in my arms, Lidiya helping me keep her head still as we walk to the car and place Emma inside.
I get in behind her and keep her head in place.
Grigory is in the driver’s seat, waiting to drive us to the emergency room.
As soon as the doctor says she’s ready, Grigory peels down the driveway and out the front gate.
My brothers, Mikhail, and Lidiya follow us in another SUV.
Two of our friends from the police department meet us at the end of the driveway, and escort us all the way to Mass Gen in the city.
It’s normally a twenty-five minute drive—we make it in ten.
Our friend at the hospital takes over once Emma is out of the car and on a stretcher.
He says that the extent of her injuries is severe, and she needs immediate surgery.
I follow them for as long as I can. The doctor stops me at the door to the operating room, and won’t let me go further.
It takes all three of my brothers and Mikhail to hold me back.
Callaghan may be dead, but if Emma dies, too, I will take and destroy everything that mudak left behind.